What is a user group and should you start one?

A user group is a community where individuals with a shared interest — often centered around a specific product, service, or field — come together to exchange knowledge, collaborate, and solve challenges. Historically, user groups met in person, but many have transitioned to online communities in the digital age, offering greater accessibility and reach.

While some user groups are organized and supported by companies or organizations, others are independently formed by enthusiasts or professionals. These groups are often structured around specific locations or roles, creating opportunities for more targeted collaboration. Typical activities within user groups include workshops, informal discussions, guest speaker sessions, and knowledge-sharing events, fostering both learning and connection among members.

User groups should ideally prioritize serving their members, not promoting your company. However, building one can still bring significant value to your business. Here are five compelling reasons to start a user group:

Actionable insights are essential for driving innovation, improving services, and staying competitive. User groups provide businesses with a dynamic platform for brands to gather in-depth feedback from their most engaged users. These communities act as a direct channel for identifying pain points, challenges, feature requests, and emerging customer needs.

Unlike traditional surveys, user groups encourage open and transparent discussions, giving businesses a richer, more authentic understanding of their audience. By actively participating in these conversations, companies can turn insights into strategies that enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty. Beyond collecting customer feedback, engaging with user groups strengthens relationships by showing members that their input is valued. This collaborative approach not only ensures products and services meet customer expectations but also builds long-term trust and advocacy.

User groups are a powerful way to cultivate brand advocates. By creating a space where customers feel valued and connected, businesses can foster trust and loyalty among their most engaged users. When members see their feedback addressed and their contributions appreciated, they’re more likely to develop a deeper emotional connection with the brand.

These advocates help amplify the brand’s reach through word-of-mouth recommendations, testimonials, or participation in events and discussions. Exclusive benefits, such as early access to features or special perks, can further incentivize advocacy. This makes user groups a powerful tool for driving growth and increasing brand visibility.

User groups are also a powerful tool for educating your customers about your products and services, driving better adoption rates, and reducing customer turnover. These communities provide a space for users to share best practices, learn from peers, and access resources that deepen their understanding of a product or service.

Through user group meetings, webinars, and discussions, companies can provide training, share case studies, and address user challenges. This approach helps reduce frustration, build confidence, and strengthen brand loyalty. Engaged and informed users are more likely to continue using the product, recommend it to others, and explore additional offerings, making user groups critical for improving both product adoption and long-term retention.

User groups offer enterprise businesses an excellent platform for peer-to-peer support, where users can ask questions, share insights, and collaborate amongst themselves to find solutions. By creating a user-centric space for self-service, brands can significantly reduce the workload on customer support teams. With users resolving common or straightforward inquiries independently, support agents can focus on complex, high-priority issues that require personalized attention.

This not only enhances operational efficiency but also lowers costs by reducing the volume of support tickets. User groups serve as a self-sustaining resource, allowing businesses to optimize their customer service operations while maintaining a high standard of care. As a result, enterprises can scale their support efforts effectively without overburdening teams, ensuring both users and agents have a more productive and positive experience.

User groups offer a space where customers can engage not just with the brand but also with each other, creating a sense of community. This peer-to-peer interaction promotes greater interaction, as users share experiences, solutions, and ideas in real time. These interactions can lead to a more vibrant, active customer base that feels more connected to the brand.

By facilitating these exchanges, businesses can tap into a valuable source of enthusiasm, where customers are more willing to explore new features, join discussions, or participate in events. This consistent interaction fosters loyalty, helps customers feel more invested, and leads to deeper connections that go beyond transactional relationships.

Starting a user group can be a pivotal step for your business, but it requires thoughtful planning to ensure success. Asking the right questions upfront will help you align the group’s purpose with both user expectations and your company’s goals, setting the foundation for a successful online community.

What is the purpose of your user group?

It’s important to define the primary goals of your user group before you begin. Are you aiming to gather more insightful customer feedback, drive better product adoption, or strengthen brand advocacy? You should also think through your company’s goals for a user group, and ensure it aligns.

How will your user group meet?

While some user groups meet in person, an online community is the easiest way to reach a wider user base and streamline meetings. Online community platforms allow you to accommodate users across different time zones and regions by offering various meeting formats, from live webinars to forums and group chats.

What type of events and activities will your user group host?

Next, you’ll want to think about the types of events and activities your group will host. Will you prioritize regular meetups or webinars to keep everyone in the loop? Or, maybe you’d like to create space for more casual, peer-to-peer discussions where members can share insights and collaborate. You might even consider a mix of both. The key is finding activities that keep your members engaged, help them connect, and add real value to their experience.

What resources will your user group need?

Think about the resources your group will need to run smoothly. You’ll need a way to host events, manage discussions, and track how everyone’s engaging. Whether that’s a community platform, project management tools, or just some solid guidelines for keeping things organized, it’s important to make sure you have everything in place to foster smooth communication and collaboration. A knowledge base can also be helpful to centralize information, so members can easily find what they need.

How will you measure success?

It’s important to have a clear way to measure how your user group is doing. Think about setting up some community key performance indicators (KPIs) like engagement rates, user satisfaction, and retention. These will help you see what’s working and what might need tweaking. Tracking these benchmarks also gives you a way to show the value of the group to leadership, so everyone stays on the same page about its impact.

If you're ready to create an online user group for your business, here's how you can get started:

The first step is to identify your target audience — this could be users of a specific product, customers with shared interests, or professionals in a particular field. Understanding the needs and preferences of your audience will guide how you set up the group.

Next, choose the right platform to host your group. Specialized community platforms, like Khoros Communities, can provide the tools needed for discussions, file sharing, and announcements. Make sure the platform is user-friendly and fits the level of engagement you're aiming for. Consider privacy settings and whether your group will be public or private, depending on the nature of the conversations and your goals.

After that, you can build out the structure of the group. Define the rules and guidelines for participation to ensure respectful and meaningful interactions. Having moderators who can help manage content and keep the conversation on track is essential. To encourage engagement, create a content plan that includes regular discussions, Q&A sessions, and informative posts. Additionally, creating opportunities for members to share their experiences or solutions can help foster a sense of belonging.

Lastly, promote your group to potential members using social media, email newsletters, and word of mouth. Once the group is established, continue to engage with the community by asking for feedback, hosting events or webinars, and celebrating milestones. Consistency in participation and offering value will help your online user group grow and thrive over time.

A community platform helps you connect with users, drive engagement, and foster collaboration in a single space. Khoros Communities offers an all-in-one software solution, designed to build meaningful connections with your audience. With features like discussion boards, resource hosting, seamless member management, and advanced analytics, Khoros provides everything you need to create an engaging user group.

Request a demo today to see how Khoros Communities can help you strengthen your customer relationships and boost engagement.